Gryps War
The , aka the Gryps Conflict, is a fictional conflict from the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam anime series. It involved fighting between the Anti Earth Union Group (AEUG)/Karaba, the Titans taskforce, and Axis Zeon (later renamed Neo Zeon). Overview Following the end of the One Year War in U.C. 0080, the Earth Federation sought to rebuild its fighting power. However, the Gundam Development Project proved to almost be its undoing when the Delaz Fleet learned of the RX-78GP02A Gundam "Physalis" and its nuclear warhead. The ensuing Delaz Conflict, better known as Operation Stardust, gave the Federation a major black eye. During this time, Jamitov Hymen argued in favor of a group dedicated to making sure something like this would never happen again. To that end, the Federation allowed the creation of this group, known as the Titans. In theory, the Titans were meant to ensure no other Zeon-type rebellions could happen; in practice, however, it ended up much worse. Whereas the Titans were once just a special military unit dedicated to stopping anti-Federation insurgencies and were allowed to act outside of the Federation's jurisdiction, the power they gained through their successes led them to be much more brutal and expand their goal to include anyone who dared oppose Earth Federation policy. While many Earthnoids sought to join the Titans in light of their success, others -- especially Spacenoids within the Federation -- became fed up with the Titans and started to protest. The Colony 30 Incident On July 31, U.C. 0085, a peaceful demonstration was held in Colony 30 at Side 1. This demonstration, however, got out of control. When the Federation authority failed to stop it, the Titans intervened by shutting down the colony's air supply and pumping G3 Nerve Gas into the colony, killing all ten million inhabitants. Although a total press blackout was put in place to cover up the incident, the truth eventually emerged. When the Federation decided not to punish the Titans for this incident, the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) was formed, under the leadership of former Federation officer Blex Forer. The AEUG received financial and technological support from Anaheim Electronics as well as backing from many colonies and lunar cities. The Gryps Conflict Gundam Heist The Gryps Conflict officially started on March 2, U.C. 0087, when a small AEUG squad led by Quattro Bajeena was dispatched to infiltrate the two Titans colonies at Side 7. During his reconnaissance mission in Green Noa II (Gryps), Quattro discovered that the new RX-178 Gundam Mk-II was being used to train Titans pilots at Gryps. Upon this discovery, the group decided to steal the new Gundam. With the unexpected help of a civilian boy named Kamille Bidan, whose parents were Federation engineers responsible for the development of the Mark II, they were able to steal two of the three Mark II units. Because of this, Kamille joined the AEUG despite his parents' job. During this small battle the Titans were also confronted by the new RMS-099 Rick Dias mobile suit and the new assault carrier Argama. However, Bask Om, who was on Green Noa 1, reacted very quickly and decided to take Kamille’s parents as hostages and deliver a message to the Argama through a young officer named Emma Sheen, who piloted the third Gundam Mark II. When Kamille found out about this he tried to rescue his parents, but they were both killed in the subsequent battle. Nevertheless, it was a success for the AEUG because Emma, who rejected Bask’s cruel methods, joined the AEUG and brought with her the third Mark II unit. However, only one unit was in working order, and after being repainted, Kamille became its pilot. To the moon After the successful heist, the Titans announced to the world that this incident was an act of terror committed by the AEUG and the Alexandria started to pursue the Argama, which tried to escape from Side 7 to the moon. In preparation for a large-scale assault on Jaburo, a key Federation supply base, the Argama entered Earth orbit and Reccoa Londe was dispatched to Earth to scout the Jaburo area. During this time, the ship also attacked a solar power satellite. Afterwards, the Argama sidetracked to Colony 30 of Side 1 for the benefit of probation officer Emma Sheen, who did not know the complete truth of the Titan's tyrannical atrocities. Federation ace pilot Lila Milla Rira pursued them, but she was defeated in combat by Kamille. The Argama finally reached the moon city Amman, where it was able to resupply. Quattro also received his new mobile suit, the MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki, at Amman. During their rest on the moon, the higher-ups of the AEUG met with their sponsors from Anaheim Electronics, who wanted to proceed with the attack on Jaburo despite Quattro’s objections. To strengthen their fleet, the AEUG also stole several Federation ships from their drydocks. With their now-stronger fleet, the Argama flew to Earth to begin the attack on Jaburo. During their journey, the ship saved the shuttle Temptation, which was transporting refugees from Side 7, from an unknown mobile armor (which later turned out to be the PMX-000 Messala piloted by Paptimus Scirocco, who used this attack to observe the status of the AEUG’s fleet). The shuttle captain Bright Noa, the famous captain of the White Base from the One Year War, joined the AEUG and became the new captain of the Argama. In addition, Kamille’s friend Fa Yuiry joined the crew of the ship before continuing their journey to earth. *In the movie compilation Heirs to the Stars, the Argama visited Colony 30 before Emma's arrival; Reccoa showed Emma a video from it. Because of this, Lila and Kamille did not battle outside Colony 30; instead, they fought during the Jaburo drop operation where Lila was killed. The Argama did not have a stop on the moon; instead it received reinforcements in space before beginning the Jaburo drop operation. Attack on Jaburo (The Second Battle of Jaburo) On May 11, the AEUG commenced their attack on Jaburo. Their fleet dispatched dozens of ballute-equipped mobile suits, along with the Gundam Mk-II and the FXA-00 Flying Armor, to enter the atmosphere, but soon their forces were attacked by the Titans, along with the Scirocco's Messala. The AEUG forces were able to successfully enter the atmosphere and arrive in the sky over Jaburo. A small battle followed between the AEUG suits, the army of the Titans from space, and the Federation forces from Jaburo. Because the Jaburo base was only defended by old and outdated mobile suits and fighters the AEUG soon realized that something was wrong. When the AEUG arrived within the subterranean levels, they discovered that the Titans had abandoned the base after setting off a timed nuclear bomb. Because of this, the AEUG forces stole the Garuda-class aerial carrier Audhumla, and escaped before the bomb detonated and destroyed Jaburo. This was a major blow to AEUG, as they were unable to reduce the Titans' strength and their best pilots were stranded on Earth. Soon afterwards, the Audhumla were contacted by their Earth-based allies, Karaba, to arrange a meeting place. Time on Earth The AEUG met Karaba leader and former White Base member Hayato Kobayashi, who told them they have a possibility to bring their pilots back into space. However, the Audhumla was attacked by the Titans' new transformable mobile weapons: the ORX-005 Gaplant piloted by Cyber-Newtype Rosamia Badam and then the NRX-044 Asshimar piloted by Buran Blutarch. During this battle, Amuro Ray and Katz Kobayashi intervened on the behalf of the Audhumla. Once the Titans' attack was repelled, the Audhumla descended on the Karaba base Hickory in order to catch a shuttle ride to space. However, only Quattro and Katz made the departure along with the Hyaku Shiki, they left their Rick Dias units on Earth to give Karaba more fighting power and Kamille also stayed with the terrestrial resistance. After the launch, the Audhumla departed for New Hong Kong, which came under attack by the MRX-009 Psyco Gundam, piloted by Cyber-Newtype Four Murasame. Kamille fought off the Psyco Gundam in his Mk. II, which Four had believed to be piloted by Amuro Ray. After the battle, Four snuck into the city on foot in search of Amuro, only to meet Kamille in person. Unaware that they were enemy pilots, a relationship formed between them before they discovered each others' allegiances. Against his wishes, Kamille was forced to continue fighting against Four, who revealed that she must destroy the Mk. II in order to regain her memories. In a final battle between the Audhumla and the Titans' airship Sudori, Four disabled the Sudori and told Kamille to use the ship's booster rocket to return to space, as the Argama's orbit was approaching overhead. During Kamille's escape, Four was presumed dead in the Sudori's explosion. Back in space, Kamille took control of the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, a new advanced mobile suit built to his specifications. *In the movie compilation Lovers, the Audhumla stopped over at Hickory. Four was killed while helping Kamille when Ben Wooder shot her in the head. Rosamia was shot down by Gundam Mk.II which seemed to have survived, but is never seen for the rest of movie. Africa Liberation In the middle of the fight between the Earth Federation/Titans and AEUG/Karaba, Axis Zeon dispatched a special commando team to North Africa (one of a few territories still belonging to Zeon after One Year War), assisting the Zeon remnants residing there. In June 0087, Zeon remnants succeeded in liberating North Africa from Federation after defeating a division of Titans through guerrilla tactics. The Zeon remnants struggled during the battle until the Titans' Garuda-class carrier was struck down by Axis's new Dowadges and Gaza Cs, which turned the tables in Zeon's favor. These remaining forces were later reinforced by Haman Karn before attacking Dakar during First Neo Zeon War. Some of the Axis soldiers who survived the battle remained on Earth and hid themselves well until the descent of the Garencieres and attacked Dakar once more during Third Neo Zeon War. Operation Apollo While the major members of the AEUG operated on Earth, the Titans strengthened their position in space. The Republic of Zeon sided with the Titans and loaned them their asteroid fortress A Baoa Qu, which the Titans moved to Luna II. Together with the colony Gryps, they formed the Gate of Zedan, which became their new headquarters. Their former headquarters, Gryps, was split in half and one part was transformed into a new colony laser. In addition, Scirocco joined the Titans and pledged his loyalty to Jamitov; however, in truth, he had his own ulterior motives. On August 10, a Titans fleet under the command of Scirocco and with assistance from the Republic of Zeon started Operation Apollo and occupied the lunar city Von Braun. With this plan, the Titans wanted to further strengthen their position and although the AEUG was able to drive them away from the city, the Federation senate was impressed and six days later they placed a portion of Federation Forces under the command of the Titans after a very close vote. On August 17, Forer was assassinated and Quattro became the new leader of the AEUG. In the next days and month the Titans attacked several colonies and moon cities with methods which were banned under the Antarctic Treaty. On August 24 they attempted to drop an unused colony on the lunar city of Granada and one month later they attacked Colony 25 of Side 2 with poison gas. However, both operations ended in failure. *It was later clarified that Jamitov did not acquire full command of the EFF, but only a sizable portion of it deemed sufficient to defeat the AEUG rebels. This was because pro-Titans politicians failed to pass the vote by a significant majority (it was a very close vote, hence a compromise was decided). Arrival of Axis After their 20-month-long journey, the asteroid base Axis, which held a great part of the former Principality of Zeon members, finally arrived in the Earth Sphere on October 12, U.C. 0087. Because of its great military strength, Axis would be a powerful player in the Gryps Conflict and thus both the AEUG and the Titans sought to ally themselves with the former Principality members. The AEUG was the first party which got an audience with the leader of Axis, the eight-year old Mineva Lao Zabi, who revealed that Quattro was sent to Earth as an undercover agent. It was here that Quattro realized that Mineva was nothing more than a puppet for Haman, who was the true leader of Axis and when he confronted her about this he destroyed any chance of an alliance between the AEUG and Axis. As a result, Axis allied itself with the Titans on the following day. Attack on Kilimanjaro and The First Battle of Dakar At the beginning of November, the AEUG was informed that the Karaba planned an attack on the Titans base on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. The AEUG agreed to help them by attacking from Earth orbit. However, during this attack Kamille and Quattro accidentally fell on Earth where they joined the Karaba. During this time, Kamille once again met Four, but she was killed by Titans pilot Jerid Messa. Karaba was able to destroy the Titans base on November 3, giving the resistance forces their first major victory. On November 16, Quattro, Kamille, and Karaba seized control of the Federation Assembly in Dakar, where Quattro revealed his true identity as Char Aznable and denounced the Titans before the whole world. His speech was strengthened by the fact that the Titans were fighting above the city without regard for the delegates or civillians, with the ensuing battle being broadcast across the world. Now unable to dismiss any claims against them, the Federation immediately withdrew its support for the Titans. With the Titans now cut off from Federation support, Jamitov was forced to leave Earth and he departed for the Gate of Zedan. The Colony Laser Looking to re-establish themselves as a force to be feared, the now-isolated Titans quickly developed plans to attack Space Colonies as a show of force. On December 7, they used the colony laser to destroy Colony 18 of Side 2. One week later, Colony 21 of the same side was attacked with poison gas, which killed the entire population. When it was revealed that the colony laser’s next target was the headquarters of Anaheim Electronics on the moon, the sponsors of the AEUG decided to make a deal with Haman: they promised her Side 3 if she would destroy the colony laser and Haman agreed. On January 18, U.C. 0088, Haman used the Axis asteroid to ram the Gate of Zedan, destroying the Titans' headquarters in space and also a great part of their forces. Afterwards, the Axis forces captured the colony laser for themselves and Axis itself was set on a collision course with the moon city Granada. One week after this disastrous events the negotiations between Axis and the Titans broke down. Scirocco used these events to kill Jamitov and place the blame on Haman. In addition, Titans general Bask Om was killed by Reccoa, who now sided with Scirocco after defecting from AEUG. With both Titans leaders dead, Scirocco had the organization under his complete grasp. * In the movie compilation Love Is the Pulse of the Stars, Bask was killed by Yazan Gable instead of Reccoa. Operation Maelstrom and fall of the Titans On February 2, U.C. 0088, with the colony laser now in the hands of Axis and the asteroid fortress itself on a collision course with Granada, the AEUG started Operation Maelstrom (this name was chosen because the AEUG ships would continually circle the Axis fleet and fire into the center, which would create the impression of a giant whirlpool, or maelstrom) to capture the colony laser from the renegade Zeon forces. They succeeded and were able to use it to prevent the giant asteroid from crashing into the lunar city. Over two weeks later on February 20, the forces of the AEUG, the remaining Titans under control of Scirocco, and the Axis Zeon met in a fleet battle around the colony laser. Scirocco tried to disable the laser before it could be positioned to destroy the remaining Titans fleet, but he was confronted by Kamille in a final battle. During this fight Kamille killed Scirocco and destroyed his powerful mobile suit PMX-003 The O, but not before Scirocco used a mental attack to cripple Kamille’s mind. In the meantime, Char confronted Haman and her powerful AMX-004 Qubeley, but his Hyaku Shiki was nearly destroyed and Char was listed as missing in action. On February 22, U.C. 0088, during the battle between the three forces, the Axis fleet pulled out to prepare for their invasion of Earth. On the other hand, the remaining Titans were in the firing range of the colony laser and Bright seized this chance to annihilate them; the colony laser itself was destroyed soon afterwards. Ultimately, this campaign ended in victory for the AEUG. *In the movie compilation Love Is the Pulse of the Stars, the Axis Forces did not attempt to crash the asteroid base Axis into Granada. In addition, Scirocco did not mentally attack Kamille before dying. The Axis forces were removed from the end of the film, resulting in the displacement of the original sequel Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. Aftermath At the end of the final battle, both the Titan and AEUG fleets lay in ruins, having decimated one another in the conflict. With the AEUG losing most of their ace pilots and the Titan fleet wiped out by the colony laser, the stage was set for Axis Zeon to achieve their objective of the invasion of the Earth Sphere. By mostly staying out of the conflict within the Federation, Axis had preserved its military force and now faced insufficient opposition to stop it, leading to the First Neo Zeon War, which began almost immediately after the end of the Gryps Conflict, as played out in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. This war was the second that took billions of lives, the first being the One Year War. Trivia *The main battle between the Earth Sphere Federation (ESF) and Celestial Being in the second season of another series, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, bears striking similarities to that of the Gryps conflict. Much like how Titans usurped control of the Earth Federation, A-Laws, created for reasons similar to that of Titans (to crush dissent and strengthen the hand of the Federation) eventually dominated the ESF army. Celestial Being, like AEUG, denounced and opposed those atrocities and eventually defeated the A-Laws, bringing about the reform of the ESF. *The Galactic Civil War from Star Wars bears similarities to Gryps Conflict due to a rebellion restoring a government by waging war against a corrupt organization. AEUG and the Rebel Alliance were formed from their respective governments (Earth Federation and Galactic Republic) as well as allying with their former enemies (Principality of the Zeon and Separatist). Both the Titans and the Galactic Empire are a corrupted version of their former government (Earth Federation and Galactic Republic) and the only difference is that Titans is a task force but would later take control of the Federation through their support based on their activities whereas the Empire was reformed from the Republic and both were founded by a sinister individual (Jamitov Hymen and Bask Om and Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious) who plotted it through a certain operation (Operation Stardust and Order 66). The Titans and the Empire would use technology from their former enemies (Principality of the Zeon and Sepratists) to advance their military. Both Titans and the Empire would later end up being destroyed but later live on as a small faction (New Desides and First Order) where as the Rebel Alliance and AEUG become reformed once again as their former government with a certain task force (New Republic and The Resistance and Earth Federation and Londo Bell). External links *Gryps Conflict on GundamOfficial ja:グリプス戦役